Patient Centered Medical Home

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) introduced the concept of the medical home in 1967, with an intention to provide a central location for archiving a child’s medical record. Recognition of the current crisis in access to primary care, quality, cost, and patient experience of care lead the AAP expanded the medical home concept to include operational characteristics like accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective care in 2002. The patient centered medical home is a model of care setting that provides room for collaboration between patients, and their personal physicians, and sometimes the patient’s family. Health information technology other means is used to assure that patients get appropriate care when and where they need and want it in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
Principles
A� Physician lead health care: Each patient has a personal physician lead a team that is responsible to provide continuous and comprehensive patient care
A� Patient centered care: the personal physician is responsible for either providing or appropriately arranging Current Health Issues 2018 with other providers for the patient’s entire personal health needs that includes care for all stages of life
A� Coordinated care: all elements of the complex health care system and the patient’s community collaborate and coordinate the health care
A� Application of health care technologies: Information technology, health information Weight Loss Pantry Staples exchange and other means are used to assure that patients get is provided timely care
A� Quality and safety: Medical home assures quality and safety of the healthcare
A� Enhanced access to care: Open scheduling, expanded hours and new options for communication between patients, their personal physician, and practice staff improves access to care.
Benefits
A� Better health outcomes can be achieved, higher patient experience, and more efficient use of resources.
A� The PCMH allows patients free choice of physician, providing prompt appointments, reducing waiting times, and delivering care based on the best evidence on clinical effectiveness, empowering patients to partner with their personal physicians on decision-making.
A� The PCMH would use health information systems to provide data and reminder prompts such that all patients receive needed services
A� Commonwealth Fund reports that a medical home eliminates racial and ethnic discrimination in access and quality for insured persons. A medical home improves accessibility to healthcare need and routine preventive screenings specially in adults with chronic conditions
A� By providing comprehensive and continuous care it reduces complication associated with chronic diseases like diabetes, congestive heart failure, and asthma that leads to fewer avoidable hospitalizations and costs associated with it.
Conclusion
Health care provided in patient-centered medical home results better outcomes, reduced rate of death, reduced preventable hospital admissions for patients with chronic diseases, efficient utilization of resources, improved patient compliance with the prescribed treatment, and reduced health care cost.